A method of this kind for managing a location based telephone conference within a cellular mobile radio network is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,436,785. Furthermore, it is known to set up telephone conferences with one or more subscribers within a mobile radio network, wherein the individual subscribers have to specifically dial in via an adequate call number. However, these telephone conferences are not publicly accessible for everybody.
As internet applications, so-called chat systems are known in which access is allowed for everybody, this means that it is possible that a plurality of subscribers can enter a chat room via an internet application and it is thereby made possible that people can chat in a simple manner with third parties by exchanging text messages.
However, when using mobile radio networks, the preferred communication means is the voice. A method for location based telephone conferencing within a mobile radio network enables subscribers to communicate with other subscribers in the same general location, in particular in the same coverage area of the mobile radio network, like users in a chat room do. The coverage area in this case is assigned to a particular telephone conference and is geographically a part of the whole coverage area of the cellular mobile radio network. By assigning a coverage area to a particular telephone conference user groups, so called communities, can be specified and users can be grouped together as a community in a telephone conference which is open for a plurality of users.
However, if the subscriber of a telephone conference moves and/or the telephone conference itself moves geographically in that the subscriber leaves the coverage area, the subscriber's participation in the telephone conference and his temporary membership of the local user group ends.